


Kind of Like a Love Song

by Cynder2013



Series: O+ Mixtape [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Future Tara Maclay/Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Multi, Murder, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25265899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynder2013/pseuds/Cynder2013
Summary: The obligatory soulmate AU. How to keep your soulmate when you want them, and how to get rid of them when you don't.
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Drusilla/Spike (BtVS), Rupert Giles/Ethan Rayne
Series: O+ Mixtape [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733377
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Kind of Like a Love Song

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading the [Alpha Harris soulmark AU](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1157174) (the Xander/Steve Rogers one, where the soulmarks are the first words said to each other) and I had questions. This little AU is my attempt at an answer. It’s not to be taken too seriously...but I also probably put too much thought into it.

Liam’s words are in English. They’re strange words. “Yeah, there’s a problem.” The first word isn’t even a word. He reads them backwards in the mirror, craning his neck so he can see them curving around the back of his shoulder. They feel like a promise, these strange words in their strange handwriting that loops and curls without the letters ever joining together. His soulmate is something different from all the people he knows. When they finally meet, everything is going to change.

He dies before he meets her.

* * *

Drusilla’s words aren’t in English. They’re more proof that she’s a devil-child. No respectable young lady would have a soulmate who doesn’t speak English. She feels lucky that she can keep the Chinese symbols that appear to have been painted down her side with a brush and ink safely hidden under her layers of clothing. One of her sisters has her words following the curve at the base of her throat. _She_ thinks herself lucky that “Do you like roses?” is neither overly mundane nor extremely embarrassing.

Drusilla is in China. The stars have been whispering to her, naughty things. They have such ideas. She quite likes what they’re saying. That man is looking at her oddly, yelling (the first thing he says is “What are you doing?”, but she doesn’t understand any Chinese language). He comes closer to her or she goes closer to him, it doesn’t matter which. All that matters is her fangs in his neck and the pretty sound he makes when he hits the ground.

She doesn’t need words. She has her sweet William.

* * *

William knows that Cecily isn’t his soulmate, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to woo her. She said his words. “No, thank you.” That has to mean something, even if his words are written in a hand that looks more like that of a child learning their letters than a refined lady like Cecily. He finds himself falling for her more and more each day. When he rejects him, something inside him breaks.

Drusilla isn’t his soulmate, but William doesn’t have a soul. He has love. For them, that’s enough.

* * *

Rupert should have known that he wouldn’t meet his soulmate among the Watchers Council. His first night after leaving home, a boy comes up to him at a party and says his soulwords. “You look like fun.” He asks Rupert if he wants to go somewhere more interesting. Rupert smiles a razor-sharp smile. “Let’s.”

As he packs his bags to leave for America, Rupert misses Ethan even more than he has since he went back to the Watchers. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever see his soulmate again. He knows they aren’t good for each other, but that doesn’t stop him from loving Ethan. 

* * *

Lucy thinks she’s met her soulmate when a boy offers her a candy in a hospital waiting room. She only accepts she’s wrong when she finally sees his soulmark and it isn’t a thank you, but by then they’re in love, or something like. (It says, “I should wish you’d made me wait longer, but I’m too happy to finally meet you.”) If one of them does meet their soulmate, they’ll figure out what to do together. (Lucy and Quinn think they can all be together, if it’s not a platonic bond. He dies before they have to test it.)

When Lucy does meet her soulmate, she spends months doubting it. The words of her soulmark are so common. But then she sees his soulmark and it’s her handwriting (“No, thank you.”). It’s even in the same place on his body as his words (“You want one?”) are on her’s, following the curve of his right hip. She spends more months wondering how she and Spike can be soulmates when his soul is long gone.

That question is answered when Angel loses his soul.

* * *

Willow and Oz have the same soulmark. It’s a question, “Do you know where this room is?” It makes a circle around their belly buttons. Willow thinks that the writing looks like a girl’s. Oz thinks it looks like a boy’s, to be contrary and because there’s a least a fifty percent chance that the words don’t belong to a girl. Whoever their soulmate is, Willow and Oz can’t wait to meet them.

* * *

Buffy is convinced that her soulmate is either old or a solider. Probably both. “Is there a problem, ma’am?” is such an old solider thing to say, at least she thinks so. She doesn’t mind that they’ll probably have a platonic bond. Her mom’s soulmate was her Art History professor in college with eighty years between them, and they were perfectly happy until Aunt Peggy died. What she doesn’t like is that her old solider will probably die long before she does. She’s seen how badly Aunt Peggy’s death hurt Mom, is still hurting her. Buffy doesn’t want to be that lonely.

Buffy’s soulmate is old and he’s a solider just like she is, but their bond is far from platonic. She thinks that things might be easier if it was.

Angel shows up on her doorstep three nights after they make love on her birthday, two nights after they blow up the Judge, one night after Ms. Calendar’s uncle storms out of the library and gets himself killed by fledges after telling them how Angel’s curse could be broken. He stands outside on the porch even though he could easily come inside. He tells her that his soul is gone, Angel is gone, but she’s still his soulmate and he still loves her. Angelus wants to be with her. He wants to know if they can make it work. It’s bizarre and Buffy should stake him because _he doesn’t have a soul_ , but she doesn’t. She invites him in and they make a plan.

They call a family meeting in the old mansion that Angelus was hiding in while he was figuring out if he wanted to kill Buffy or not. There are a lot of weird things about it. Sure, Buffy should probably have figured out that Spike and Lucy are soulmates. There were a lot of clues, if she thinks back, but it’s still kind of weird. Getting hugged by Drusilla is definite weirdness. Giles sitting down with Angelus under the light of a truth spell with neither of them attempting to kill each other is a good weird. Giles listens and nods. Now they have to figure out how to tell the others that Angelus, Drusilla and Spike are on their side.

Buffy’s soulmate doesn’t have a soul, but that’s okay. Her’s is enough for both of them.

* * *

Xander doesn’t learn that his soulmark is a demon language until senior year, when he opens one of Giles’ books and immediately recognizes the letters it’s written in. He’s had to look at them every day of his life, after all. If he didn’t wear long sleeves almost all the time he’s sure Giles would have told him what his soulmark says long before now. He closes the book twice as fast as he opened it. He doesn’t need to know what language that is because he refuses to be soulmates with a demon.

He learns what his soulmark says two days later. If Buffy and Angelus can make things work, well...At least his soulmate won’t be a vampire.


End file.
